Wednesday was College Signing Day and everyone is excited for what the future holds for these students. But are they ready? That is the big question and the motivation behind why GAC invests considerable resources into developing the best AP Program in Atlanta. GAC is tied for the top Atlanta private school to have the highest AP pass rate at 84% in 26 AP courses.

In the last year, two additional courses have been added bringing the total to 28, the most of any Atlanta private school. That means more opportunity for GAC students to better prepare for the academic challenges that await them.

During this week’s Academic Awards Night, GAC awarded high school students who have performed at the highest level in the AP Program. Over 30 AP Scholars with differing distinctions were recognized. Their performance indicates strong college preparedness, something students are able to achieve before they even begin which gives them a “leg up” on their peers. Scores on the AP exams are used by colleges to determine if they will grant course credit for what the student has already learned.

Says High School Principal Shane Woodward: “These accomplishments are not only indicative of the caliber of students we have but of the quality of our faculty as well. Our teachers’ ability to engage and challenge our students, while equipping them with knowledge of standards that are essential in the Advanced Placement curriculum, is phenomenal. These accomplishments do not just happen. They require careful planning and quality assessment, over time, to understand exactly what students need. Our teachers put a lot of effort into making these scores a possibility for our students and I couldn’t be more grateful for their efforts.”
Among those 33 awarded are:

AP Scholar: Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams.
Mary Grace Manton
Navya Sarikonda 
Kaitlyn Williams 
Christopher Barbieri 
Ethan George
Catherine Wanning Cheng 
Lillian Clark 
Evana Darby 
Caroline Lowenstein 
Savannah Hill 
Summar Hill  
Ethan McDonnell  
Sofia Nadal   
Julia Nguyen  
Spencer Yates

AP Scholar with Honor: Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
Sam Collins 
Roy Dixon 
Celeste Hosfeld 
Sarah Kester
Christopher Johnson

AP Scholar with Distinction: Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
Elise Karinshak 
Christine Melley 
Pranathi Singareddy 
Harry Zhang 
Matthew Marino 
Alex Wright 
Eunice Park 
Adrian Tomasevic 
Nataly Beacham 
Calvin Dong 
Hunter McIntosh
Grant Mimms 

National AP Scholar: Granted to students in the US who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.
Victoria Huynh (To note, Victoria also earned a perfect score on her AP Government exam, a rare achievement by only 113 of the over 300,000 students who took the exam globally last May.)